US Secretary Blinken condemns Israeli strike, urges “impartial” investigation

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken offered his condolences to the families and loved ones of the workers of the World Central Kitchen relief organization who were killed in a raid in the Gaza Strip, stressing that he asked the Israeli government to conduct an “impartial” investigation.

Blinken said at a press conference in Paris: “We spoke directly to the Israeli government about this particular incident. We’ve urged a swift, a thorough, and impartial investigation to understand exactly what happened.”

Blinken arrived in Paris on Tuesday after members of the non-governmental organization World Central Kitchen, which is based in Washington, DC, were subjected to an Israeli air strike in central Gaza, which increases pressure on the United States to take a tougher stance on the war between Israel and the Hamas movement. The Palestinian Islamic Resistance (Hamas), and regarding the arms supplies provided to the Jewish state.

But Blinken stressed on Tuesday that the United States is committed to Israel’s security and enabling it to defend itself, noting that “weapons transfers to it are carried out with the approval of Congress.”

He said: “Since the first days of the conflict in Gaza, we have stressed that Israel must be keen to protect civilians,” adding that humanitarian workers must be protected.